Dominican Order in Vietnam flourishes

Saigon, Vietnam, Nov 10, 2009 / 01:03 am (CNA).- In a celebratory event in Saigon on Saturday, Fr. Joseph Ngo Si Dinh announced to thunderous applause that the “number of friars, nuns, sisters, and lay Dominicans in our family in Vietnam has increased substantially and already reached to the population of a diocese!”

Fr. Joseph Ngo Si Dinh, Vietnam Dominican Provincial, spoke to attendants at the 2009 Dominicans’ Traditional Family Day held at St. Dominic Church on Nov.7. He reported that the Order now has 150 friars, and that the number of nuns and sisters has steadily increased at the rate of 200 annually.

Fr. J.B. An Dang told CNA that one of the main contributors to this rapid growth is the involvement of the Lay Dominicans, known as Third Order Dominicans, of which there are up to 103,000 professed in Vietnam. Lay Dominicans are reported to be actively involved in their parish activities and their Dominican formation is said to be well-supported by local parish priests and diocesan bishops.

Cooperation between the branches of the Dominican family and the diocesan structure in Vietnam is viewed by many as a primary reason for the steady growth of the order, despite the difficulties of living in a communist country.

The history of the Dominicans in Vietnam can be traced back to the 17th century, explained Fr. An Dang, with the arrival of missionary priests John of the Holy Cross and John de Arjona. Over the next several hundred years, the order continued to grow despite numerous violent persecutions against Christians.

In 1975, soon after the communist takeover of South Vietnam, all schools, social services centers, and formation houses of Vietnamese Dominicans were seized and all foreign Dominicans were expelled. The majority of native Dominicans survived by working on local farms and their religious lifestyle had to now accommodate harsher living conditions. Many lost their lives under the circumstances, while others returned to their families.

Despite this struggle, the order has continued to exist and flourish. Support for the Dominican Order in Vietnam has also come from overseas Dominican communities, including a regional vicariate based in Canada.

St Caterina Benincasa Dominican Monastery

WELCOME

Holy Spirit Catholic Church ~ Our Lady of Peace shrine on left

Caterina Benincasa Monastery on right in back.

Painting of St Catherine by Sr Mary Grace op

St Catherine

All things are possible for those who believe

Our Lady of Peace

This statue is 33 feet high and on the site of the site of the St Caterina Benincasa Dominican Monastery

Bishop Michael Saltarelli blessing the Monastery on the feast of St Catherine of Siena

Fr Timothy Nolan pastor of Holy Spirit Catholic Church on the grounds of the Monastery Visiting Dominican Bishop from the Solomon Islands Chris Cardone, OP on right at the end of table and Fr Steven op on left.

See the art, cards of Dominican artist Sr Mary Grace OP

click here

Sr Mary Grace painting

Let us pray for one another

Nicky the Dominican Dog in front of the

shrine of Our Lady of Peace

St Caterina Benincasa Dominican Monastery
6 Church Drive
New Castle, Delaware 19720
302 654-1206

Saint Catherine was born Catherine Benincasa in Siena, Italy, to Giacomo di Benincasa, a cloth-dyer, and Lapa Piagenti, a daughter of a local poet. She was the 23rd out of 25 children, and her twin sister died at birth.

Catherine received no formal education, and at the age of seven she consecrated her virginity to Christ despite her family's opposition. Her parents wanted her to live a normal life and marry, but against her parents' will, she dedicated her life to praying, meditating and living in total solitude into her late teens. At the age of sixteen, she took the habit of the Dominican Tertiaries.

Catherine dedicated her life to helping the ill and the poor, where she took care of them in hospitals or homes. She rounded up a group of followers, both women and men, and traveled with them along Northern Italy where they asked for a reform of the clergy, the launch of a new crusade and advised people that repentance and renewal could be done through "the total love for God." Catherine also dedicated her life to the study of religious texts.

HERE I AM LORD